Skip to main content

Harnessing Emotional Awareness

One of the simplest and most effective tools to guide what you intend to do is to name your emotions. This reduces the raw intensity of emotions, giving us the space to respond in a more deliberate way. The simple act of naming bridges the gap between thoughts and emotions, allowing us to be more intelligent with our feelings—something necessary if we are to use them as a resource rather than feel overwhelmed by them.

The exercise is simple. Next time you experience a really strong emotion, share the obvious with yourself: I am frustrated, or angry, or sad, or overwhelmed. This is extremely effective and opens a door for us to respond in the way we truly want. However, because of the way we have been socialised to think about difficult emotions, you may find yourself avoiding acknowledging that you are angry, frustrated, or overwhelmed—something that is not entirely helpful.

When we are trapped in the self-destructive mindset that some emotions are bad and that we should not feel them — such as anger, fear, and sadness — we are wasting a valuable resource. Emotions are data that focus our attention and motivate us towards a specific course of action. This is the depth of emotional intelligence. To navigate our emotions effectively, we must work with them, making them our allies.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What Winter Asks

Lately, I’ve found myself anticipating winter — not because it is here, but because its presence has begun to register. A shift in tone. A quiet deviation from the familiar. We are still within autumn, yes, but the pattern is clear: a cooling, a thinning of light, a withdrawal. Winter does not arrive with grandeur. It infiltrates. It operates in intervals — a guest that does not overstay, yet rearranges the room all the same. It brings with it not only the chill, but a quiet audit of our habits. Our homes, designed for air and openness, falter in the face of this visitor. We adjust. Coats reappear. Blankets are retrieved from high places. Improvisation becomes method: Havaianas with woollen socks. Soup, made not only to nourish but to ground. This is where hygge emerges — not as aesthetic, but as principle. The deliberate act of creating warmth within transience. A structured comfort, built from attentiveness. Outside, clouds obscure the light. Inside, a countermeasure: sof...

On slowing time: multivitamins, acupuncture, and the art of ageing well

A major randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, recently published, has demonstrated that daily multivitamin supplementation may decelerate biological ageing, as assessed by epigenetic markers. Conducted by researchers at Columbia University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the study followed over 2,200 participants aged sixty and above for a period of two years, evaluating the long-term effects of daily micronutrient intake. Epigenetic age — distinct from chronological age — was estimated via DNA methylation, a biomarker increasingly recognised for its accuracy in gauging biological ageing. The results revealed a marked slowing of this process among those receiving the multivitamin: on average, participants exhibited approximately two years less biological ageing when compared with their counterparts in the placebo group. These findings lend weight to the hypothesis that subtle yet chronic micronutrient deficiencies may hasten the ageing process, even in the a...

The Navel and the Whole

In the course of daily life, concepts such as knowledge, self-knowledge, and the practice of goodness ought never to be forgotten. Yet not only are they neglected — they are actively abandoned, especially when they stand at odds with the ambitions of humankind. And therein lies the blind spot of human pride: the self — the ever-contemplated navel. I see it manifest in the most absurd of circumstances, where there is no sincere interest in understanding the other. The affluent denigrate the poor; the poor resent the affluent. But where, I ask, is our shared humanity? Where is the recognition that the destiny of one is bound to the destiny of all? That recognition remains — dimmed, tucked away in some forgotten recess — awaiting the rekindling of light. When I welcome a homosexual patient, I see someone in search of that very light, navigating life in a conservative, restrictive city that offers little room to breathe. When I receive someone ensnared in substance use, I encou...